White House Was Warned About Benghazi

Fox News is reporting on a classified cable that shows the Benghazi Consulate convened an emergency meeting one month before it was overrun by Al Qaeda. The meeting warned there were several Al Qaeda terror cells working in Benghazi and the US compound there was defenseless against an organized attack. Ultimately, the lack of response to the meeting led to deaths of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans including two former Navy SEALs.

An August 15th emergency meeting convened by the U.S. Mission in Benghazi was summarized in the August 16th cable marked “SECRET,” which said the State Department’s senior security officer, also known as the RSO, did not believe the consulate could be protected.

“RSO (Regional Security Officer) expressed concerns with the ability to defend Post in the event of a coordinated attack due to limited manpower, security measures, weapons capabilities, host nation support, and the overall size of the compound,” the cable said.

According to a review of the cable addressed to the Office of the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Emergency Action Committee was also briefed “on the location of approximately ten Islamist militias and AQ training camps within Benghazi … these groups ran the spectrum from Islamist militias, such as the QRF Brigade and Ansar al-Sharia, to ‘Takfirist thugs.’”

The report goes on to say the situation in Benghazi is “trending negatively,” the cable said explicitly that the mission would ask for more help. “In light of the uncertain security environment, US Mission Benghazi will submit specific requests to US Embassy Tripoli for additional physical security upgrades and staffing needs by separate cover.”

These dire warnings were obviously ignored and the consequences are four dead Americans on American soil. Now, 6 weeks after the attack the American people still do not have answers. Who was in charge of this situation? Why were the requests either ignored or denied? If we clearly knew the Al Qaeda players operating in the area and that they were becoming more brazen (they already attacked the British and blew a hole in our compound wall) then why did the Obama Administration act like it was a surprise uprising due to a YouTube video?

It has become increasingly clear over the last few weeks that the Obama Administration is going to stonewall and not give any answers until this election is over. Should he win re-election some wonder if the American people will ever get answers? America and the brave men and women who defend this great nation not only deserve answers, but deserve an administration that will do what is necessary to protect them when they are in harms way.